B&Q stores are having a quiet summer after Britain's gardeners seized the chance to stock up early during warm spring weather.

The chain's owner Kingfisher admitted business became more difficult in the past few months, after good weather brought forward sales into the previous quarter and the company came up against tough comparisons with last year.

Kingfisher shares slumped 7 per cent in early trading as the City reacted badly to news of a poor summer for B&Q and softer trading in France and Poland.

Warm weather: Earlybird gardeners
got stuck in and made their purchases at B&Q during Britain's good spring weather

Revenues at B&Q were down by 3.2 per cent on an underlying basis in the 10 weeks to July 12, as sales of outdoor and seasonal products slumped 8 per cent on a year ago.

Boss Sir Ian Cheshire said: 'Our markets in the second quarter, notably in June, have been slower than anticipated particularly in France and Poland.'

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He said it was unclear whether the recent weakness was short-term in nature, but Kingfisher planned to accelerate its 'self-help' profit margin and cost initiatives to help support second half performance.

Kingfisher is the world's third largest home improvement chain, with 1,134 stores in nine countries in Europe and Asia. Its main retail brands are B&Q and Screwfix in the UK and Ireland and Castorama and Brico Depot in France.

Screwfix sales grew by 11.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis but the supplier of tools and hardware products, which trades from 356 sites, failed to prevent overall UK and Ireland underlying sales falling by 1.3 per cent in the latest quarter.

The stronger first quarter meant overall UK and Ireland sales rose by 7 per cent overall and by 4.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the year to date.

Underlying sales in France were down 2.2 per cent in the quarter, driven by a decline of 3.8 per cent at Brico Depot due to a slower housebuilding market.

In April, Kingfisher said it had entered exclusive negotiations to buy smaller French rival Mr Bricolage, and today announced that deal had become binding.

Shares in Kingfisher fell 24.45 to 311.55p this morning.

Income shares watch: Kingfisher announced a 4.7 per cent rise in its total annual dividend to 9.9p when it delivered full-year results in March. The shares yield 2.95 per cent.

View from the City

Freddie George of Cantor Fitzgerald cut his 'top end of the range' forecast for Kingfisher profits this year from £805million to £780million.

He said the distraction of the World Cup, which led to weakness in many home categories, was another factor in the disappointing performance.

James Abbott, trader at Accendo Markets, said: 'Traders across the City cannot get rid of Kingfisher shares quick enough. The mass sell-off has seen the stock headlining as the worst performer on the FTSE 100.'

'After warning back in May that profit growth will be slower than expected, this does not sit well with traders who now have eyes on an interim statement in September. They should expect the worst.'

Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said: 'Kingfisher’s second quarter update only covers the short 10-week period to July 12, but it looks to have been a bit disappointing for Kingfisher in the UK, with B&Q down by 3.2 per cent like-for-like, suffering from stronger comparatives and the pull-forward of seasonal trade into the first quarter,.

'But the group is more concerned about the soft trading in France and Poland and it has had to pull forward cost and margin measures to support the profit outlook.'

Stock watch: Kingfisher shares have recovered since the financial crisis but taken a hit of late